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BPAL Madness!

helarctos

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Posts posted by helarctos


  1. Dark and fiery, with a waft of smoke (woodsmoke? charcoal smoke?). After a bit of wear, something that smells almost like deep cocoa emerges. Not your Swiss Miss cocoa -- the dark expensive kind that's hoardworthy.


  2. To me, Coyote is a low-key dust smell, almost like patchouli but subtler.

     

    Husband's quirky nose had a bit different assessment. It was amusing enough that I took notes on it.

    Husband: "It smells like a bad mint candy that won't taste like mint." Me: "I don't think there's any mint in it." *checks listed notes* "There's no mint in it." Husband: "Well, I don't know. It's obviously not a positive smell to me." He sniffed again: "I can't make any association."


  3. Hymn was very difficult for my nose to comprehend. I could swear there was jasmine in this, but the Lab's description has no such thing ("perfect rose absolute and Palestinian Lily of the Valley with olibanum, labdanum, frankincense and myrrh") I didn't catch the frankincense or myrrh at all, and I'm not sure I would know how to recognize olibanum or labdanum. What I did get from Hymn was a sweet sharp high floral, almost overpowering.


  4. I expected such a panoply of glorious scents from Vinland. When I finally got my paws on an imp, I could hardly wait.

     

    Sadly, all I got was ... a baffling whiff of citrus. I don't think there are even any citrus notes listed in this blend. I'm perplexed.


  5. Black Cat is a strong acrid herbal smell in the imp. On my skin, it changes to a strange floral smell, still with a pronounced herbal odor. Something new and musty comes out of it -- is there perhaps civet in this blend?


  6. Yum to the nth power. It smells like Fruit Stripe gum (my husband adds: "or even a good, full-flavored plain old bubble gum").

     

    But it becomes more fruity and less gummy as it ages. In its most glorious form, it transmutes into a high sweet tropical-fruit smell. It's like papaya and peaches.

     

    This goes on the big bottle must-have list.


  7. Oddly, I didn't get any cherry from Queen of Hearts -- perhaps because I had a fairly old partial imp, acquired through swaps; maybe the cherry aged out of it? What was left was a strong, commanding floral -- too strong for me (again, maybe aging had something to do with this).

     

    Those who don't like the cherry aspect of QoH but like it otherwise might want to try aging it and see what happens.


  8. I love BPAL aquatics but the citrus notes they seem to contain are hit and miss with me, as my skin amps up citrus to a fare-thee-well.

     

    Storm was nearly intolerable on me for this reason. It was a whole lotta lemon and not much else.


  9. Somnus smelled not unlike a standard lavender soap on me. That was pretty much it: lavender, and a soapy smell.

     

    I can't vouch for its soporific qualities either, but I don't hold Somnus to blame for that -- I have a case of insomnia that only prescription medication can touch.

     

    I sent what was left of my imp to an LJer who was having anxiety-induced sleeping problems. If I get an update from her on how it worked, I'll edit this post to add it.


  10. To me, Lucky #20 smells strongly of honeysuckle, and nothing but.

     

    I'm not sure about its effects yet. After decanting an imp I owed to a swapper, I applied to myself the remains from my dropper, and immediately dropped a whole baggie full of empty imps on the floor. No harm done, but it seems even Twilight Alchemy Lab can't counter my inner klutz. :P


  11. Redolent of everything precious. Tea, sugar, spices, rare woods. For such a rich scent, it's surprisingly light and sweet.

     

    I must have a big bottle of this one!

     

    ETA: Made an eau de parfum out of 5 ml of Silk Road and some perfumer's alcohol from Snowdrift Farms, and a citrusy note emerged that I hadn't gotten with the perfume oil alone.

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